Support for heat exchanger



w s. B'ESHEKAS 3,352,126

SUPPORT FOR HEAT EXCHANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 14, 1967 Filed Jul .21, 1-965 if I ' N 14, 1967 w. s. BESHEKAS I SUPPORT FOR HEAT EX-CHANGER Fl 8 u y 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent ()fiice 3,352,126 Patented Nov. 14, 1967 SUPPORT FOR HEAT EXCHANGER William S. Beshekas, Villa Park, Ill., assignor to Wik- 'lander'Metallic Fabricators, Inc., a corporation of Illinois I Filed July 21, 1965, Ser. No. 473,730

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 62-286) The present .invention relates to improvements in mounting frames for commercial and residential heat exchanger; installations.

'The installation of air conditioning in existing commerical and'residential heating systems of the forced air type has become a substantial business. Such installations require the placement of an appropriate tube in fin type heat exchanger in a plenum chamber within the system. The-size ofthe plenum chamber, however, varies with almost every manufacturer of the heating equipment, and therefore heat exchanger installations must be individually tailored'to the particular system in which it is to be insta1IedIAs-a result, considerable hand fitting is required for each installation, with a corresponding rise in the cost of the installation.

Accordingly, it is an objective, of the present invention to provide asubstantial reduction in the cost of installing heat exchangers in existing plenum chambers, and more particularly, evaporators in existing heating plants, by eliminating the necessity of hand tailoring the mounting frame of the evaporator, or like heat exchanger, within the chamber. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, universal mounting frame, adapted to support any conventional size evaporator in all of the various existing and available heating plants.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from a reading of the detailed description presented hereinafter in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of an exemplary evaporator assembly mounted in a plenum chamber on a mounting frame constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a mounting frame constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the mounting frame of FIG. 2, and including a side shield member;

FIG. 4 is an elevation illustrating the relationship between the tube banks and the side shield;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the side shield of FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIG. 6 is an end of a support member of the mounting frame of FIG. 2. v

While'the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, an illustrative embodiment has been shown in the drawings and will be described below in considerable detail. It will be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

As stated hereinabove, the present invention provides a novel universal mounting frame for the installation of a heat exchanger in any existing plenum chamber. Such an installation is illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein an evaporator 10 is shown installed in a plenum chamber 12 by means of a mounting frame indicated generally at 14 and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

The evaporator comprises, in this instance, a pair of finned tube banks 18 and 19 disposed in a generally A- shaped profile with the base of the A towards the bottom of the installation. Such an installation is typical, and

permits the maximum evaporator surface area to be presented to a given air flow. The tube banks 18 and 19 are retained in their inclined position by a brace 21, at the top of the banks, and the entire evaporator heat exchanger 10 is supported in a plenum chamber by the frame 14.

Prior to the present invention, installation of heat exchangers of this type within a plenum chamber require measurement of the plenum chamber, and then the hand fabrication of a supporting'frame to be fitted into the chamber itself. It was not unusual in such installations to expect considerable trial and error in attempting to fit the frame securely within the chamber, and then it was necessary to assemble the evaporator within the chamber. In accordance with the present invention, the necessity of hand fabrication of a mounting frame has been eliminated, and, as seen in FIG. 2, a universal mounting frame 14 is provided. Referring specifically to FIG. 2, the frame 14 comprises a pair of opposed support members 25 and 26,

each comprising a supporting trough or pan 28 defined by an upstanding peripheral wall 30 about a bottom portion 31 adapted to receive the base of a coil bank. Condensation which forms on the tubes runs into the pans 'and is disposed of through tubular opening 32, thereby ardized and mass produced.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, each such trough 28 is mounted at its ends on cross members 35 which, as seen in FIG. 6, may be constructed of readily available angle iron. It will be appreciated that the specific shape of the cross members is a matter of choice. It is a feature of the invention that cross members to be used in a particular assembly are of two sizes, one being slightly greater than the other so as to provide for the telescoping of one within the other. Thus, the support member 26 is provided with cross members 37 which, as may be seen in FIG. 2, telescope over the cross members 35. Generally, the cross members 37 are only slightly bigger than the members 35 so as to minimize costs and so as to provide as tight a fit as possible between the members while at the same time permitting sliding movement between them. This arrangement lends lateral as well as longitudinal support to the joined frames.

Each cross member is provided with a suitable slot, the cross member 35 having a slot 40 therein andthe cross members 37 having slots 41 and 42 in each cross member. The slots are longitudinally aligned, and provide for the selective joinder of the members 25 and 26 at a predetermined spacing appropriate to the size of the chamber, by means of any suitable connector such as wing nuts 45. It will be appreciated that in lieu of slots, each cross member may be provided with a row of aligned holes which would permit incremental adjustment of the size of the device by appropriate choice of holes.

Thus, in installation, it becomes unnecessary to measure the size of the plenum chamber and hand fabricate a suitable supporting mount for installation of the evaporator unit. Universal frame 14 is inserted into the plenum chamber. An understanding flange 50, disposed on the perimeter of the trough 28, which may be an extension of the back wall 30 of the trough, is provided with a plurality of suitable holes 51 for the receipt of machine screws or the like to permanently fasten the trough to the plenum wall. With each trough member so secured, the wing nuts 45 are tightened and the unit, by virtue of the overlapping rigid cross members, becomes a rigid mounting frame, installed in a matter of minutes, and with a minimum of eflort on the part of the installer. The evaporator tube banks may then be installed an connected to the rest of the system.

A suitable sheet metal end shield is likewise provided, and is illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 5. In profile, the shield resembles the letter I, as seen in FIG. 5, and comprises an upstanding sheet metal wall 55 which terminates at its lower end in the floor 57 of a pan defined by an upstanding flange 59 generally parallel with the wall 55. As seen in elevation, the shield conforms to the arrangement of the bank and is provided with suitable holes 61 to permit fastening of the tube banks to the shield to secure the same and provide added support, as well as to confine air flow to a path through the tube banks. At the base of the shield, a portion of the floor section 57 is bent downwardly (see FIG. 3) defining flanges 64 on either side of the shield. These flanges engage the wall section 30 of the troughs, thereby providing a drip or condensate area about the entire perimeter of the evaporator. Knowing the general shape and size of the evaporator unit, the shields may be readily fabricated of sheet metal, and the flanges 64 bent to fit the frame when mounted in the plenum chamber.

Thus, the entire installation is accomplished by parts which may be manufactured in gross, as contrasted to the individual tailoring of the mounting equipment heretofore required.

I claimas my invention:

1. A universal supporting frame for supporting a heat exchanger in a chamber, comprising a pair of spaced support members, said members each having means defining a trough at one. end thereof, each said trough having an upstanding flange defining the outer wall thereof, the top of said flange being above the bottom portion of the heat exchanger so as to deflect condensate therefrom into said trough, cross members extending outwardly from said-trough and adapted to telescopingly engage complementary cross members on an associated support mem-" her, said cross members being apertured, and a fastener being provided through aligned apertures to join respective telescoping cross members to space said troughs of said support members at a predetermined distance for engaging and supporting the bottom portion of a heat exchanger, said troughs disposed beneath said heat exchanger so as to collect condensation therefrom and carry the same away, and shields provided so as to be disposed at the sides of the heat exchanger and in communication with said troughs to collect and redirect condensate from the sides thereof to said troughs.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said support members are identically constructed and pairs thereof are interengaged to define said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,541,418 2/1951 Herrick 248-03 2,899,803 8/1959 Paley 62%291 3,000,193 9/1961 Crider 48 XR 3,066,898 12/1962 Haynes 248...23 3,074,478 1/1963 Ertz 165.101 3,097,507 7/1963 Makuh 165.4.8 XR

OTHER REFERENCES Gusellschaft, British printed specification No. 908,429, published Oct. 17, 1962.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner.

R. P. SEITTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A UNIVERSAL SUPPORTING FRAME FOR SUPPORTING A HEAT EXCHANGER IN A CHAMBER, COMPRESSING A PAIR OF SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS, SAID MEMBERS EACH HAVING MEANS DEFINING A THROUGH AT ONE END THEREOF, EACH SAID THROUGH HAVING AN UPSTANDING FLANGE DEFINING THE OUTER WALL THEREOF, THE TOP OF SAID FLANGE BEING ABOVE THE BOTTOM PORTION OF THE HEAT EXCHANGER SO AS TO DEFLECT CONDENSATE THEREFROM INTO SAID TROUGH, CROSS MEMBERS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID TROUGH AND ADAPTED TO TELESCOPINGLY ENGAGE COMPLEMENTARY CROSS MEMBERS ON AN ASSOCIATED SUPPORT MEMBER, SAID CROSS MEMBERS BEING APERTURED, AND A FASTENER BEING PROVIDED THROUGH ALIGNED APERTURES TO JOIN RESPECTIVE TELESCOPING CROSS MEMBERS TO SPACE SAID TROUGHS OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBERS AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FOR ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING THE BOTTOM PORTION OF A HEAT EXCHANGER, SAID TROUGHS DISPOSED BENEATH SAID HEAT EXCHANGER SO AS TO COLLECT CONDENSATION THEREFROM AND CARRY THE SAME AWAY, AND SHIELDS PROVIDED SO AS TO BE DISPOSED AT THE SIDES OF THE HEAT EXCHANGER AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID TROUGHS TO COLLECT AND REDIRECT CONDENSATE FROM THE SIDES THEREOF TO SAID TROUGHS. 